JP2002055767A - Information input method and information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable rapid character input using a rotary dial capable of rotating and pressing operations. SOLUTION: A character group to be input is divided into a plurality of groups, and a group is selected by rotating a rotary dial 141. Subsequently, after a specific character in the group is selected by pressing the rotary dial 141, the rotary dial 141 is rotated, or the confirmation button 142 is pressed.
Press. Thus, the selected character is input, and the character to be input next can be selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an information input method and an information input device for inputting information using an input mechanism capable of rotating and pressing operations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, small electronic devices, such as mobile phones, provided with a dial key called a jog dial as an information input mechanism for inputting instruction information from a user have become widespread. This jog dial is provided so that the peripheral surface is exposed from the outside of the electronic device,
After the user selects input information by rotating the jog dial peripheral surface, the user determines the input information by pressing the jog dial in the radial direction. For example, when inputting "O" for the first character as shown in FIG. 13, rotate the jog dial to change the character display to "A" → "B" → "C" → ... → "O". After switching and selecting a character, the jog dial is pressed to determine the character “O”. Next, when inputting "P" as the second character, rotate the jog dial in the same manner to input the character "P".
And press the jog dial to determine the character "P". The user creates a message by repeatedly performing such an operation.

[0003]

However, in the conventional method of selecting characters by switching from "A" to "B" to "C" for each character, the type of character to be input is When the number of characters increases, it takes time to select characters. In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a method of expanding a character group to be input into a two-dimensional matrix as shown in FIG. 14, and inputting characters by rotating and pressing a jog dial. For example, when inputting "O" for the first character as shown in the figure, first, rotate the jog dial to select a line containing the character "O", and press the jog dial to confirm the line. . Next, the user rotates the jog dial again to select a row including the character “O”, and presses down the jog dial to fix the row. According to this method, it is easy to select a character to be input. However, in order to input a character, it is necessary to execute a series of processing such as selecting a row → determining a row → selecting a column → determining a column. However, there is a problem that the input operation becomes complicated. In addition, there has been proposed a method in which two jog dials are mounted on one electronic device and characters can be input by using the two jog dials. Specifically, in the same manner as described above, a character group to be input is developed into a two-dimensional matrix, and one of the jog dials is rotated to select a line, and the other jog dial is rotated. Is selected, and any one of the jog dials is pressed to confirm the input character. By performing character input using two jog dials in this way,
Although the input operation is simple, it increases the cost of the electronic device. The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and provides an information input method and an information input device that enable quick information input by using a single input mechanism capable of rotating and pressing operations. The purpose is to do.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information input method using a rotary dial capable of inputting information by a rotation operation and a pressing operation as information input means. By a rotation operation of the rotary dial, a group selection step of selecting one group from a plurality of groups consisting of a plurality of item information, and by a pressing operation of the rotary dial, to a group selected in the group selection step. An item information selecting step of selecting item information to be input from the group of the item information to which the item belongs, and after the item information is selected in the item information selecting step, the rotary dial is rotated to perform the input. And a step of determining item information to be determined.

[0005] Further, the information input method according to claim 2 is characterized in that:
In the configuration according to claim 1, when an operation button is used in addition to the rotary dial as the information input unit,
In the item information determination step, after the item information is selected in the item information selection step, the item information should be input by either rotating the rotary dial or pressing an operation button. The item information is determined.

The information input device according to claim 3 is
A rotation dial capable of inputting information by a rotation operation and a pressing operation, and a rotation displacement corresponding to the rotation operation of the rotation dial are detected. Based on the detection result, one of a plurality of groups including a plurality of item information is detected. Group selecting means for selecting a group, and detecting whether or not the rotary dial has been pressed after the group has been selected by the group selecting means; and An item information selecting unit that detects a pressing displacement and selects item information to be input from among item information groups belonging to the group selected by the group selecting unit based on the detection result; and After the selection of item information is performed, it is detected whether or not the rotary dial has rotated, and the rotary dial has rotated. When determining is characterized by comprising the item information determining means for determining as item information to be entered the item selected by the item information selection means.

The information input device according to claim 4 is
4. The configuration according to claim 3, further comprising an operation button capable of inputting information by a pressing operation, wherein the item information deciding unit performs the rotation after the item information is selected by the item information selecting unit. While it is detected whether or not the dial has been rotated, after the item information has been selected by the item information selecting means, it is detected whether or not the operation button has been pressed, and the rotary dial has been rotated. When it is determined that the operation button has been pressed or when the operation button has been pressed, the item selected by the item information selecting means is determined as item information to be input.

The information input device according to claim 5 is
The configuration according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the group selected by the group selecting means includes three or less items of information.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below to make the present invention easier to understand. Such an embodiment shows one aspect of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the present invention.

A. 1. First Embodiment (1) Configuration of the Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile terminal 100 equipped with an information input device according to the present invention, and FIG.
It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of 00. 1 and 2
The portable terminal 100 shown in FIG.
tal Assisitants), and data can be exchanged via wireless. The mobile terminal 100 includes a control unit 110,
A communication unit 120, a display unit 130, an operation unit 140, and the like are provided. The control unit 110 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and has a role of controlling each unit of the terminal. The communication unit 120 includes an antenna 121, and transmits a created text message or the like under the control of the control unit 110, and receives a text message or the like sent to its own terminal. The display unit 130 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays a text message or the like created by a user. The operation unit 140 includes a rotary dial 141 that can be rotated and pressed, and a confirm button 142.
And a cancel button 143. In addition,
The operation unit 140 further includes a power button for turning on and off the power, but the illustration and description are omitted because it has nothing to do with the purpose of the present invention. The rotary dial 141 is configured to be independently operable in the circumferential direction and the radial direction,
The mobile terminal 100 is provided at an upper portion on the right side, more specifically, at a position where the mobile terminal 100 can be operated with the left thumb when the mobile terminal 100 is gripped with the left hand. Rotational displacement information (rotation direction, rotation amount, rotation speed, etc.) and press information (number of presses, press time, etc.) of the rotary dial 141 are sent to the control unit 110 as control information. The confirm button 142 is an operation button for confirming and inputting the character input by the rotating operation and the pressing operation of the rotary dial 141 and ending the character input operation. The cancel button 143 is an operation button for canceling a character input by a rotating operation and a pressing operation of the rotary dial 141. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG.
Will be described.

(2) Operation of Embodiment FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing flow in character input.
4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating screens displayed on the display unit 130. The user owning the mobile terminal 100 first presses a mode switching button (not shown) to switch from the data communication mode or the like to the message creation mode in which characters can be input. When the user performs the mode switching operation, the operation unit 140 notifies the control unit 110 that the currently set data communication mode or the like should be switched to the message creation mode. When the control unit 110 receives the mode switching request notification from the operation unit 140, the control unit 110 shown in FIG.
The character input menu screen shown in (a) is displayed on the display unit 130 (step S1).

As shown in FIG. 4A, 26 alphabetic characters and three special characters that can be input are divided into nine groups, and three or four characters are stored under each group. It is configured. For example, the first group contains three characters “A” to “C”, the second group contains three characters “D” to “F”, and the ninth group contains special characters. Characters "@", ".", "/" Are stored. On this character input screen, in addition to the character group, a cursor (カ ー ソ ル in FIG. 4A), a determination command for determining the input character, a cancel command for canceling the input character, and the like are displayed. Is displayed. In this embodiment, the initial position of the cursor is set at the beginning of the first group. Can also be set to

When the character input menu screen is displayed on the display unit 130, the user refers to the menu screen and selects a character group. To create a message "OPEN", the user first performs an operation of rotating the rotary dial 141 downward so as to move the cursor located in the first group to the fifth group to which the English character "O" belongs. . In the following description, the rotary dial 14 is used.
The operation of rotating the rotary dial 141 upward is called an up operation, and the operation of rotating the rotary dial 141 downward is called a down operation. When the rotary dial 141 is operated to be down, the operation unit 130 notifies the control unit 110 of the operation. When the control unit 110 receives the notification (step S
2; YES), the cursor at the head of the first group is moved to the head of the second group one line below based on the notification (step S3). Then, the control unit 110 determines in step S
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the rotary dial 141 has been pressed. If it is determined that the rotary dial 141 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S2 to detect again whether or not the rotary dial 141 has rotated. The control unit 110 repeatedly executes the above-described processing until the rotary dial 141 is pressed. The user moves down the cursor at the top of the first group four lines down four times (the cursor moves down one line per down operation)
I do. As a result, the cursor at the head of the first group moves to the head of the fifth group four lines below (FIG. 4).
(B)).

The user presses the rotary dial 141 after moving the cursor to the head of the fifth group to which the character "O" to be input first belongs. When detecting that the rotary dial 141 has been pressed by the user (step S4; YES), the control unit 110 determines whether or not the cursor is at the beginning of the confirmation command at the time the rotary dial 141 is pressed (step S5). If the cursor is not at the head of the fixed command, it is determined whether or not the cursor is at the head of the cancel command (step S).
6). Here, after moving the cursor to the beginning of the fifth group including the English character “O”, the rotary dial 141 is pressed down, so the control unit 110 proceeds to step S5 → step S6 → step S7, The cursor at the head of the fifth group is moved to the letter "M" belonging to the fifth group (see FIG. 4C).

In order to move the cursor on the English character "M" over the English character "O", the user continues two consecutive operations.
Times (a total of three times), the rotary dial 141 is pressed. In this embodiment, the cursor position changes from “M” to “N” to “O” according to the number of times the rotary dial 141 is pressed.
A circulation system that changes from “M” to... Is adopted.
The control unit 110 does not detect the rotation of the rotary dial 141 (step S8; NO), and
Is detected (step S4; YE)
S), the process proceeds to step S5 → step S6 → step S7, and the cursor on the English character “M” in the fifth group is moved to the adjacent English character “N”. Control unit 110
Performs such processing according to the number of times the rotary dial 141 is pressed, so that the cursor on the English character "M" is moved to the English character "O".

After selecting the English character "O" to be input in this manner, the user rotates the rotary dial 141 to confirm the input of the selected English character "O". Here, since the English character to be input after the English character "O" is the English character "P" belonging to the sixth group, the user operates the rotary dial once down. The user turns the rotary dial 1
When the 41 is down-operated once, the control unit 110 proceeds from step S8 to step S9, and after inputting the English character "O", moves the cursor to the head of the fifth group to which the English character "O" belongs. Then, the control unit 110 returns to step S3 again, and performs the fifth operation according to the rotational displacement of the rotary dial.
The cursor at the head of the group is moved to the head of the sixth group (see FIG. 5A).

In this way, the English characters "O", "P", "E", and "N" to be inputted by the user are selected and confirmed, whereby each English character is sequentially inputted. When the input of the last English letter "N" is completed, the user rotates the rotary dial 141 to position the cursor on the head of the confirmation command, and then presses the rotary dial 141 (see FIG. 5B). As a result, the control unit 110 executes step S9 → step S3 → step S4 → step S
The process proceeds to step 5, and when the rotary dial 141 is pressed, it is determined that the cursor is at the head of the confirmation command (step S5; YES), and the flow shown in FIG. 3 ends.

On the other hand, if a character is input by mistake, for example, "O" → "P" → "E" → "N" should be input in order, but "O" → "P" → "F" Or "O" → "Q" → "E" etc., the user selects the cancel command by rotating the rotary dial 141 without selecting the next English character to be input. Then, the rotary dial 141 is pressed.
As a result, the control unit 110 proceeds from step S9 to step S9.
The process proceeds from step 3 to step S4 to step S5 to step S6, it is determined that the cursor is at the head of the cancel command (step S6; YES), and the process proceeds to step S6a. At the time when the rotary dial 141 is pressed, the cursor is at the head of the cancel command, so the control unit 110 deletes all the English characters input so far.
Proceed to step S6a. The control unit 110 determines in step S
In step 6a, after erasing all English characters input so far, the flow shown in FIG. 3 ends (see FIG. 5 (c)). Note that frequently used determination commands and cancellation commands can also be realized by pressing down the determination button 142 and the cancellation button 143 provided on the side surface of the mobile terminal 100 shown in FIG. As described above, by providing operation buttons corresponding to frequently used commands on the side surface of the portable terminal 100 or the like, quicker operation becomes possible.

As described above, according to the portable terminal 100 of the present embodiment, when the character to be input is divided into a plurality of groups, the rotary dial 14
A group can be selected by one rotation operation,
By the subsequent pressing operation of the rotary dial 141, a specific character in the group can be selected. The characters selected in this manner can be input by rotating the rotary dial 141, so that the character input operation is simple and quick character input is possible. When a character group is selected, a cursor is displayed at the head of each group, and moves between characters below the selected group in accordance with a subsequent pressing operation of the rotary dial 141. Thus, the movement of the cursor when the rotary dial 141 is pressed,
The correspondence of the character selected by the movement of the cursor becomes clear, and the operability is improved.

B. Application Examples of Embodiments One embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the above embodiment is merely an example, and various applications can be applied to the above embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. . <Application Example 1> In the above-described embodiment, all the English characters input so far are canceled by selecting / confirming a cancel command. In addition to the cancel command, for example, a backward command is provided. The input English characters may be canceled one by one by selecting and confirming the backward command. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow for explaining a case where the English characters input so far are canceled one by one by a selection / confirmation operation of a backward command. The processing flow shown in the figure is the same as the processing flow shown in FIG. 3 except that steps S16 and S16a are provided. Since the other steps are the same as those in FIG. 3 described above, the corresponding steps are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Description is omitted. In the following description, it is assumed that, after inputting “CUT”, the English character “T” is corrected to the English character “S”. The user first turns the rotary dial 141.
To rotate the cursor to the beginning of the backward command, and then press the rotary dial 141 (FIG. 7).
(A)). When the backward command is selected and confirmed by the user, the control unit 110 determines in step S16 whether the cursor is at the beginning of the backward command. When the rotary dial 141 is pressed, the cursor is at the head of the backward command, so that the control unit 110 proceeds to step S16a in order to delete the English character "T" input immediately before. The control unit 110 determines in step S
At 16a, after deleting the English character "T" input immediately before, the cursor is moved to the head of the backward command, and the process returns to step S2 again (see FIG. 7B). After erasing the erroneously input English character in this way, the user inputs the English character "S" or the like which should be originally input, and ends the message creation. In this way, it is also possible to cancel the English character entered immediately before by selecting / confirming the backward command.

<Application Example 2> In the above-described embodiment, in addition to 26 characters that can be input and three special characters, a confirmation command for confirming character input and a cancel command for canceling the entered character are displayed on the display unit 130. Was displayed,
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a space command for providing a space instead of a character, a retreat command for canceling input characters one by one as described in the application example 1, and the like may be provided. A case where a character is input using a space command will be described with a specific example as follows. For example, when inputting a character by providing a space between the English character “O” and the English character “K”, the user first performs an operation of selecting and confirming the English character “O”, and then performs the rotation dial 14.
1, the cursor is positioned at the head of the space command, and the rotary dial 141 is pressed. After performing such an operation, the user performs an operation of selecting and confirming the English character “K”. As a result, a message in which a space is provided between the English character “O” and the English character “K” is displayed on the display unit 1.
30 is displayed.

<Application Example 3> In the portable terminal 100 according to the above-described embodiment, the rotary dial 141, the enter button 142, and the cancel button 143
Are arranged on the right side (in FIG. 1, the left side in the drawing). For this reason, the cursor is set to move from the left side to the right side by the pressing operation of the rotary dial 141 (see FIG. 4). For example, the rotary dial 141 and the like are moved to the left side of the portable terminal 100 (in FIG. ), The cursor may be moved from the right side to the left side by the pressing operation of the rotary dial 141. Also,
Similarly, when the rotary dial 141 and the like are provided on the upper side surface of the portable terminal 100, the character groups and various commands are arranged in the left and right directions, and the cursor is moved from the upper side to the lower side in the figure by pressing the rotary dial 141. May be set. By configuring the portable terminal 100 in this manner, the rotation direction of the rotary dial 141, the moving direction of the cursor moving between the character group and the command, and the pressing direction of the rotary dial 141 and the moving direction of the cursor moving within the group are Matches. Thereby, the character input operation using the rotary dial 141 is simplified.

<Application Example 4> Further, regarding the movement of the cursor accompanying the rotation operation of the rotary dial 141, a character group or the like where the cursor is displayed at the bottom and a character group or the like where the cursor is displayed at the top are virtual. It is more preferable that the cursor is stopped at a character group or the like displayed at both ends of the display unit 130, instead of moving so as to be connected to. For example, assume that frequently used character groups and commands are assigned to both ends. When the user inputs a character belonging to a character group or the like arranged at both ends, the user can always select the character group by rotating the rotary dial 141 a little. As described above, when inputting characters belonging to a character group or the like arranged at both ends, it is not necessary to consider how many times the rotary dial 141 has been operated up or down, and the like. Character input becomes possible.

<Application Example 5> The portable terminal 100 includes:
A click sensation imparting mechanism for giving a click sensation to a fingertip operated according to a unit rotation angle of the rotary dial 141 so that the user can grasp how much the cursor has moved by rotating the rotary dial 141. It may be provided. Specifically, each time the cursor moves one line up or one line down between groups, a click feeling is given to the user's fingertip. Thereby, the user can grasp the position of the cursor moving between the groups only by feeling of the fingertip without referring to the display unit 130.

<Application 6> A timer is provided in the portable terminal 100, and if a character input operation is not performed within the time set in the timer, the character at the cursor position is automatically replaced after the set time has elapsed. , Or the character input itself may be canceled. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a problem that the character input is not performed forever even though the character input mode is set.

<Application Example 7> In the present embodiment, an example in which English characters are input in uppercase letters has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. You may comprise so that a character input is attained in both uppercase and lowercase. Specifically, after inputting the corresponding English character in capital letters, the rotary dial 141 is rotated to move the cursor to the head of the size switching command. And the rotary dial 14
When the user presses 1 and the size switching command is confirmed, the alphabetic character input immediately before in uppercase is converted to lowercase. In this way, by providing a size switching command, it may be configured such that characters can be input in both uppercase and lowercase letters.
As shown in (b), uppercase letters and corresponding lowercase English letters may be displayed in the same character group.
In this case, it is possible to omit the size switching command. For example, if an attempt is made to input “s” belonging to the “PQRSpqrs” group, the rotary dial 1
After selecting the group by rotating 41, when selecting the lowercase English letter “s” belonging to the group,
It is necessary to press the rotary dial 141 eight times in total, and the operability deteriorates. Therefore, when forming a character group as shown in FIG. 9B, it is more preferable to provide a size switching command. Further, when there is room in the display space, as shown in FIG. 9C, an uppercase English character group and a lowercase English character group may be displayed separately. In this case, it is also possible to provide a size switching command in consideration of operability.

<Application Example 8> In the present embodiment, the input of English characters has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, kana characters. FIG. 10A is a diagram for explaining a case where the present invention is applied to kana character input. When inputting a kana character, it is necessary to input a cloud point, a semi-voice point, and the like. For this reason, in FIG. 10A, a special character group to which a voiced dot, a semi-voiced voice, and the like belong is provided below the size switching command. For example, when inputting the character “GA”, the user first inputs “KA”, and then inputs the cloud point “゛”. It should be noted that the operation of selecting and confirming the input characters in the case of inputting the voiced mark “゛” after inputting “ka” can be described in the same manner as in the present embodiment, and thus the description is omitted. Also, in the case of inputting a kana character, as described in the application example 7, it is needless to say that switching between uppercase and lowercase is possible by providing a size switching command or the like. If the display space has room, FIG.
As shown in (1), an uppercase kana character group, an uppercase kana character group with a voiced character and a semi-voiced character, and a lowercase kana character group may be displayed separately. Also in this case, it is also possible to provide a size switching command and a special character group to which voiced and semi-voiced characters belong in consideration of operability and use them together. Also,
The arrangement of the kana characters in the present invention is limited to the arrangement of the “Aioe” group, the “Kakikukeko” group,..., The “Wadon” group shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b). Is not intended to be intended. For example, FIG.
As shown in (c), the "Iroha Nihoto" group, the "Wakayareso" group,...

<Application Example 9> Further, in the above-described embodiment and application examples, the corresponding command or the like is selected and confirmed, so that a character entered immediately before can be changed from a clouded point or a semi-voiced point to an uppercase letter to a lowercase letter. Although switching and cancellation of characters have been performed, for example, it is also possible to directly designate an input character or to cancel a character entered immediately after the designated character. Hereinafter, a case where the input character is directly specified to cancel the character will be described. In the application example 1 described above, when the English character "T" is corrected to the English character "S" after the input of "CUT", the backward command is selected after the input of the English character "T", and thereby the backward command is selected. The English letter “T” was canceled (see FIG. 7). On the other hand, when directly specifying the English character to be canceled,
After moving the cursor displayed in the display field (for example, the location where "CUT" is displayed in FIG. 7A) on the English character "T" to be corrected, a cancel command is selected. As a result, the designated English letter "T" is erased. As described above, whether the character to be canceled or the like is specified directly or indirectly (that is, immediately before or immediately after the specified character) should be set according to the usage of the mobile terminal 100 or the like. Is possible.

<Application Example 10> In the application example 8 described above, kana character groups such as uppercase letters and lowercase letters are provided for inputting kana characters.
As shown in the figure, on the first line of the character group,
The second to sixth lines are provided with vowel input character groups “A” to “O”, and the seventh to thirteenth lines are provided with “YWX”. ~ "RML"
Character group for consonant input. When inputting a kana character, a corresponding consonant is specified first, and then a vowel is specified. For example, when inputting the kana character "SA (SA)", first the corresponding consonant "S" is selected and determined, and then the corresponding vowel "A" is selected and determined. In addition, for example, in the case of inputting a repetitive sound “tsu” or the like, the input can be performed by continuously selecting and confirming the same character belonging to the vowel group. As described above, it is possible to set so that a kana character can be input without providing a kana character group.

<Application Example 11> The present invention can be applied not only to English character input and Kana character input but also to numeric input. FIG. 12A is a diagram for explaining a case where the present invention is applied to numeric input. As shown in the figure,
Each number from "0" to "9" belongs to a different group, and "0" to "0"
Any one number up to “9” is stored. As described above, when one group is configured to include one item, by pressing the rotary dial 141 continuously, the same item may be continuously input. It is possible. As described above, in the present embodiment, the rotation operation of the rotary dial 141 (selection of a group) → the pressing operation of the rotary dial 141 (selection of an item in a group) → the rotation operation of the rotary dial 141 (determination of an item). By performing a series of operations, character input is performed. Therefore, the rotary dial 14
Even if one is continuously pressed, only the selected item changes, and the same item is not continuously input. Therefore, when one group is configured to include one item, the rotation operation of the rotary dial 141 (selection of a group and an item) → the operation of pressing the rotary dial (determination of an item) is set. By rotating the dial 14
It is possible to realize a continuous input by continuously pressing one. In addition, in the application example 11, 1 is added below the number group of 1.
Although the description has been made by taking the case where the number is stored as an example, it does not mean that the number is limited to the number group.
It is also possible to realize continuous input by continuously pressing the rotary dial 141 even in an English character group in which the English character is stored and various commands (for example, the backward command described in the application example 2). FIG.
As shown in (b), any one of “0” to “9”
In addition to the number group in which the numbers are stored, a number group in which a plurality of numbers are stored may be provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 12C, the present invention can be applied not only to English character input, kana character input, and numeric input but also to symbol input.

<Application Example 12> Regarding the various character inputs described above, by providing various input commands such as an English character input command, a kana character input command, a numeric input command, and a symbol input command, the types of characters can be mutually changed. You may make it switchable. As a result, for example, English characters such as "TARO-san, Genki?"
A message composed of kana characters and symbols can be created. The number of items that make up each group is
It is desirable that the number is about three (at most five).
As described above, selection of an item to be input is performed by pressing the rotary dial 141. Therefore, when one group includes, for example, ten items, the user needs to press the rotary dial 141 up to ten times. If an item to be input is selected by pressing the rotary dial 141 ten times, rapid character input cannot be performed. Therefore, the number of items that make up each group is
It is desirable that the number is about three. In the above-described embodiment, the mobile terminal 100 such as a PDA has been described as an example. However, a mobile phone, a PHS (registered trademark), an electronic organizer,
Rotary dial 141 for TV remote control, video camera, etc.
It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to any electronic device capable of inputting information by using the electronic device.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Using a rotary dial that can be rotated and pressed,
Character input can be performed quickly. In addition, the operation direction of the rotary dial and the movement direction of the cursor that moves with the operation of the rotary dial match. Therefore, the correspondence between the movement of the cursor and the character selected by the movement of the cursor becomes clear, and the operability at the time of inputting the character is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the mobile terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of character input.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating character input screens displayed on a display unit, respectively.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating character input screens displayed on a display unit, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of character input.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams exemplifying a character input screen displayed on a display unit, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a character input screen displayed on a display unit.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams exemplifying a character input screen displayed on a display unit.

FIGS. 10A to 10C are diagrams exemplifying a character input screen displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a character input screen displayed on a display unit.

FIGS. 12A to 12C are diagrams exemplifying a character input screen displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a conventional character input screen.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a conventional character input screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: portable terminal, 110: control unit, 130
··· Display unit, 140 ··· Operation unit, 141 ··· Rotation dial, 142 ··· Confirmation button, 143 ··· Cancel button.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B020 AA02 AA04 AA12 AA17 CC12 DD05 FF54 GG05 GG44 5B087 AA09 AB02 CC02 CC26 DD09 DE02 DE06 DJ01 DJ09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A rotary dial capable of inputting information by a rotating operation and a pressing operation is used as information input means, and by rotating the rotating dial, one of a plurality of groups of a plurality of item information is selected. A group selecting step of selecting a group; an item information selecting step of selecting item information to be input from an item information group belonging to the group selected in the group selecting step by pressing the rotary dial; After the item information is selected in the item information selection process, by rotating the rotary dial,
An item information deciding step of deciding item information to be inputted. 2. When using an operation button in addition to the rotary dial as the information input means, in the item information determination step, after the item information is selected in the item information selection step, the rotary dial is turned on. 2. The information input method according to claim 1, wherein the item information to be input is determined by either a rotation operation or an operation of pressing an operation button. 3. A rotary dial capable of inputting information by a rotary operation and a pressing operation, and a rotational displacement corresponding to the rotational operation of the rotary dial are detected, and a plurality of groups including a plurality of item information are detected based on the detection result. Group selecting means for selecting one group from among the following: and detecting whether or not the rotary dial has been pressed after the group has been selected by the group selecting means, and when the rotary dial has been pressed. Detecting the pressing displacement of the rotary dial, based on the detection result, from among the item information group belonging to the group selected by the group selecting means, item information selecting means for selecting item information to be input, After the item information is selected by the item information selecting means, it is detected whether or not the rotary dial has rotated,
An information input device, comprising: item information determination means for determining the item selected by the item information selection means as item information to be input when it is determined that the rotary dial has rotated. 4. An operation button capable of inputting information by a pressing operation, wherein the item information deciding means rotates the rotary dial after the item information is selected by the item information selecting means. While the item information is selected by the item information selecting means, it is detected whether or not the operation button has been pressed, and it is determined that the rotary dial has been rotated. 4. The information input device according to claim 3, wherein when it is determined that the operation button has been pressed, the item selected by the item information selecting means is determined as item information to be input. 5. The information input device according to claim 3, wherein the group selected by the group selection unit includes three or less items of information.